


In This House We’ve Found a Home

by OnWednesdaysWeStudyinPink



Series: The Aristocrats AU [6]
Category: Hannibal (TV)
Genre: M/M, Multi, Polyamory, Polygamy AU, Sisterwives AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-09-07
Updated: 2014-09-20
Packaged: 2018-02-16 10:42:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,439
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2266737
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OnWednesdaysWeStudyinPink/pseuds/OnWednesdaysWeStudyinPink
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Hannibal fell for the nurse who worked with him at Kick's. An AU for the Aristocrats AU.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter Uno

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Ninjaninaiii](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ninjaninaiii/gifts).



1.

Of course, with all things, Hannibal wants to display what is his and a wedding is no different, a _wife_ is no different. Tony has known his whole life he'd be someone's wife, someone’s most devoted champion, and he watches his mothers and fathers with his Papi, wanting to be just like them, just as in love with someone who will give him balance and order, who will protect and care for him, and he dreams of someone who will love life as much as he does, someone who will want to share experiences and make memories together, someone who’s _fun_. The only real mystery to him is if he'll be a First or a Second; he's not competitive and thinks he'd be happy being the Second wife in a marriage, though he wouldn’t turn down the opportunity to be a First. 

And the years pass without him making a serious commitment to any potential husband, his seven parents becoming miserable about the topic to the point where Tony has to flee Miami and live in Baltimore. And when he’s thirty-one, he meets Hannibal Lecter. 

Hannibal is anyone's dream husband—clever, cultured, sophisticated, and handsome—a true catch. They know one another from the clinic, but they don’t truly appreciate one another until Tony’s friend Franklyn introduces them at the Meyerhoff. Hannibal and Tony discover they both have a very critical ear and Tony finds that he’s soon attending performances on Hannibal’s arm instead of as Franklyn’s wingman. Hannibal is charming and can hold the attention of the entire room if he wishes and Tony feels his heart flutter when Hannibal has their photo from the societies pages framed on his desk at Kick’s because Hannibal is also a very private man and to be shown off to others means _something_.

Hannibal proposes one evening during intermission as they sit together in a private box, attending a charity concert to raise money for a soup kitchen downtown. Tony whispers, _‘Yes, Corazón,’_ against Hannibal’s lips and he realises he could never love again if Hannibal were to leave him. 

Which brings them to a wedding eight months later. Well, the first wedding, the one for Tony’s half of the family, still all located in Miami. Tony’s father is thrilled that he’s managed to score a doctor and not just any doctor, but one with so many connexions. The family thinks it’s even better news when Hannibal declares his Secondary to be his "cousin" Bedelia Kennedy, a senator and heir to a political dynasty the likes of which the country has never been able to repeat. Tony didn't tell his family that should something happen to Hannibal, he wouldn't accept the offer of Bedelia inheriting his marriage license and would just return the bridal price to her. 

Tony knows he is a good man, so it only makes sense he would deserve good things, and Count Hannibal Lecter VIII, MD is the _best_ of things, the one he wants reciting the vows to honour and protect, to love and to cherish, to obey and serve. And they kiss before Tony’s family, fingers twined together. He’s thirty-three and head over heels in love, someone’s First— _Hannibal’s_ First!—and he knows there couldn’t ever be anything that would tear them apart. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story was built from the very unexpected fixation my National Anthem artist Ninjaninaiii had with the brief mention of the "Turkey Sandwich Nurse", Tony, in the rough draft of the story I sent her last year. From then on, we had a running joke about Tony and Hannibal being the real OTP of the series and the gag has finally culminated in this story. Which actually isn't the first :/


	2. Chapter Dos

2.

Abigail is the most beautiful child and when she lies in the ICU, barely alive, Hannibal is a shadow of the man that Tony’s familiar with. Tony had tried to talk Mr Hobb’s down in the lobby and like they were a team, Hannibal had come up behind the man and brought a fire extinguisher down on Hobb’s skull. Tony hadn’t been able to follow Hannibal into the operating room and he’d remained in the lobby with the other nurses to talk to the police and watch Hobb’s body get taken away by the police. 

"I can't let her go," Hannibal says, his voice quiet and Tony can’t bring himself to think of his husband as a murderer. Because it wasn’t murder—it was defending a child!

“Would you..." Tony and Hannibal have discussed having children for some time now and he can see that this is an opportunity for them both. 

"I mustn't get my hopes up, _Corazón_."

And as though Hannibal’s been wearing a mask his whole life, Tony sees the real man beneath and before he realises what he's doing, he's rushing to Hannibal to hold him and give him permission to cry into his shoulder. 

And Hannibal sobs, broken over something that Tony knows he’ll never truly understand. It’s almost a physical pain in Tony’s own chest over the love of his life so distraught. A man has died tonight and a child is on the precipice of death as well and everything between he and Hannibal has been happy-go-lucky until this point.

"I can't leave her again,” Hannibal murmurs against Tony’s neck, voice broken.

Tony is of course familiar with Hannibal’s family history and realises that Hannibal’s seeing his sister in this bed and as someone who’s never lost a family member, he can’t even imagine the pain Hannibal is in. Tony holds him tighter and cries as well. 

When Tony finally leaves the room, he doesn’t see Hannibal’s triumphant smile. 

 


	3. Chapter Tres

3. 

Hannibal is Daddy and Tony is Papi and Abigail is the light of the heavens. 

Tony stops thinking of a second wife, knowing that if there was another person in the family so soon, it would throw off the dynamics they’ve created. And it is strange being the only wife in a household, but Tony doesn’t mind, carefully balancing his career as a nurse and his duties as a father and wife, knowing he could put any other household to shame, which is his own private satisfaction. 

There is a jar in the kitchen where they have to put a dollar inside anytime someone does something rude. Tony usually commits the sin of cursing, Abigail often interrupts others, and Hannibal can go months without getting caught breaking a rule. It's often when Hannibal treats him like an idiot that Tony demands a dollar be placed in the manners jar, which Hannibal never argues—either too polite to disagree or too gleefully caught. 

***

Monday mornings have a wonderful routine that starts the week just right; it’s Tony’s turn to take Abigail to school in Washington DC as Hannibal is still wrapping up his late shift at Kick’s, but during Hannibal’s one hour break between two and three AM, he comes back home to leave love notes for Tony and Abigail as well as both of their allowances for the week—Abigail’s dependent on her behaviour from the previous week, Tony’s a legal requirement granted to him by United State’s law—and then he returns to the Clinic. Tony get Abigail to school and then because it’s one of his days off, he hurries back home to get everything in order; by then, Hannibal is asleep in their bedroom and Tony does his chores downstairs in absolute silence before running errands around town. When he gets back to the house once again, Hannibal has already showered and left to take care of his own chores, leaving a small note on their bed that gives a little hint for what to expect during the night ahead.

Which means Tony spends a good two hours getting his suit pressed and his hair done just right—in just the exact precise way Hannibal demands it—and awaits Bedelia’s second wife, Alana, to come over to watch Abigail while he and Hannibal go out for date night. He’s whisked away to exclusive restaurants where Hannibal orders for the two of them and has expensive wine poured while they flirt with one another over candle light. Once the bill has been paid, they’re off to whatever art gallery or concert Hannibal’s planned their evening around. They smile and hold hands, exchanging adoring looks to one another as they enjoy Hannibal’s good taste.  

When they finally make it home, Abigail’s already been put to bed and Hannibal pays Alana for her time with a bottle of home brewed beer and a kiss on the cheek. Tony always thanks her profusely before sending her on her way. And then it’s off to the bedroom where Hannibal puts him on his back and whispers the filthiest things in immaculate Spanish as they make love. 

***

On Tuesdays, Tony has the great pleasure of working alongside his husband at the Clinic. As a First, Tony would have expected to simply be a home maker and give up his career, but Hannibal wouldn’t stand for it, insisting that Tony change from an licensed practical nurse to a physician assistant; and while his old fashioned parents aren't terribly happy with it, Tony is secretly thrilled that his husband respects his abilities so much that he'd encourage him to accept a higher position. So with Hannibal's blessing (and chequebook) Tony had returned to school and got his degree in record time. Now he has the privilege to work with the doctor everyone respects and admires, assisting his husband during the many emergency surgeries the Clinic receives; and his heart still skips a beat when those beautiful brown eyes gaze up at him across the operating table, handing over the tools needed.

They make such a good team fixing people that Tony can hardly believe it.

***

Wednesdays are the only days Tony and Hannibal’s days off coincide, so he gets to wake up to Hannibal’s arms wrapped around him, a leisure filled thirty minutes of quiet words and kissing before they have to get Abigail ready for school; Hannibal makes breakfast and Tony fixes Abigail’s hair after she’s put on her school uniform. Abigail speaks in fluent Spanish at home and sometimes the Lithuanian Hannibal has been teaching her; she’s quizzed on her studies and Tony has eager plans to see her in university as soon as possible. He wonders if she’ll become a doctor, too, because she loves looking through their medical library and naming off the proper names on various anatomy charts. 

Once Abigail’s off at school, they drive back to Baltimore to run errands; Tony devotes his full attention to his clever husband, proud to be worn on his husband’s arm as they visit José’s for cheese and pick up the ridiculously expensive crate of wine bottles Hannibal orders for parties and gifts. And Tony—who is not a vain man—revels in the way people stare at the two of them. Hannibal seems to bring out that hunger for attention in him, and where Hannibal is concerned, all hungers deserve to be satisfied. He finds himself preening in front of complete strangers and familiar faces from the society pages, wanting to be the one they talk about when they go home to gossip. It’s common knowledge that they’re a single couple, a husband and wife duo; sometimes Tony suspects Hannibal might only be interested in a monogamous marriage which is…something Tony’s not really comfortable with, but he’ll accept if that’s what Hannibal really wants. They attract attention wherever they go, potential wives turning their heads in interest, husbands looking at them in jealousy. Hannibal occasionally scolds Tony playfully for the way he acts, but Tony knows he enjoys having an audience, and continues to hope that someone catches Hannibal’s eye as well, someone that can become a brother-wife or sister-wife.

In the evening after Abigail’s finished her homework, Tony and Abigail travel to the local dance studio for private cha-cha-cha and mambo lessons; Abigail is a wonderful dancer and Tony enjoys participating as her dance partner, even with their spectacular height differences. He learned all these dances as a child and is so happy to share them with her as well, glad to have that bond with his daughter. 

After Abigail’s put to bed, Tony and Hannibal reconvene in their bedroom for a few tequila shots; tequila seems to be the only thing that gets his husband anywhere near drunk and Tony enjoys the way Hannibal suddenly can’t keep his hands off him, dancing a seductive bolero that’s far more physical than needed, which ends with them both on the bed. Hannibal leaves bite marks on his skin, muttering in lust thickened Spanish that he’d kill for Tony’s amusement, but it’s a pity that Tony’s not amused by such things. Tony always rolls his eyes and giggles regardless because it’s so morbid and over the top, and people say the weirdest shit when they’re drunk. Then they go to bed themselves so they’re not too tired in the morning for work and their daughter.

***

On Thursdays, Abigail has piano lessons and Tony sits patiently as he listens to her practice, checking over her homework while he waits. Hannibal wants her capable of playing the harpsichord in the sitting room and Tony thinks it’s a nice goal to give her, though draws the lines when Hannibal suggests violin and harp lessons as well. She plays the piano impressively, eager to please her daddy, and on nights that Hannibal showcases their family at his impressive and lavish dinner parties, she performs for his guests with flawless precession, luring Hannibal to join her at the end with a duet. But in order to impress everyone, Abigail must practice and while Tony’s sure that these lessons are costing thousands of dollars a year, they’re worth it. 

He also has to take the family’s two Bentleys to get detailed, Hannibal’s during Tony’s lunch break at the Clinic, and his own while Abigail has her art lessons which come after piano; it’s tedious, but Hannibal demands the constant immaculateness and Tony is willing to oblige. He supposes that being a medical professional lends itself to wanting everything clean and orderly, which he has to some degree as well, so it doesn’t seem like too much to ask for, and it even becomes habit for him to check their vehicles for smudged fingerprints or stray hairs or anything else that might stand out to Hannibal’s sharp eyes. 

***

Fridays and Saturdays, Tony has to work from evening to early morning, the same schedule he’s had since he’s started working at the clinic and while he feels terrible leaving his family to fend for themselves, Hannibal and Abigail always give him a mischievous look and tell him they’ll be all right without him. He’s asked on occasion what it is they do when he’s out of the house and he gets lies in return, but he trusts that Hannibal isn’t showing her scary movies or letting her eat the maraschino cherries she’s allergic to or—he shudders at the thought—smoke in front of her. Smoking is a vice that he’s not happy that Hannibal has, but then, even Hannibal isn’t perfect. Just as long as Abigail doesn’t think it’s acceptable to smoke, too.

Working late at night in the Clinic is such a rush—quiet moments where the only thing to do is smile at any other nurse on staff, dizzying moments where he’s running around to help with bleeding and broken people who need his help. He imagines Hannibal feels the same way and the thought warms him, slipping little love notes into his husband’s clinic mail box. He’ll catch a few hours of sleep on the couch in Hannibal’s office throughout the night, then get home just as the sun starts to rise. 

***

Sunday mornings start early because they have to attend Mass with Bedelia and her spouses; Tony is the one to go into Abigail’s room to wake their daughter up while Hannibal cooks breakfast and decides what they’ll wear for the day. Tony gently rubs his daughter’s back and head as he stirs her from her sleep, calling her his little _princesa_. She has a multitude of pretty dresses to wear and Tony has many bespoke suits that Hannibal has purchased for him, and they wait patiently for the love of their lives to return to them and tell them what to do. And Hannibal arrives in the doorway, smelling of cinnamon and maple syrup, smiling with the brightness of the sun itself; Abigail smiles and holds her arms out so he’ll lift her out of bed and Hannibal obliges her, spinning her once before setting her down. From there, their appearances are dictated and they’re fed and then led out of the house.

Church tells them about Adam and his wives Lilith and Eve, Jesus and the twelve disciples who later became the spouses of Christ. Tony was altar boy in his youth, so he’s happy to have religion as part of his life and part of his family. Abigail doesn’t like Mass, though, and he has to place his hand on hers to still her squirming, as they both know very well know that Hannibal does not appreciate distractions during Service.

Then they visit Bedelia’s for brunch; naturally, Hannibal dominates the kitchen while Tony and Abigail are kept entertained by Alana and Benjamin; Bedelia lingers in the kitchen with her cousin and then they all sit down together at the impressive mahogany table. Abigail chatters to Alana about her schooling, which is just so charming, and Ben discusses housewife matters with Tony,while Bedelia and Hannibal observe the table with hawklike attention. When everyone is happy and fed, Abigail goes into the den with Hannibal and her aunt while all the wives return to the kitchen for dishes and to pour drinks for the two cousins.

After they’ve said their goodbyes to their extended family, they go for a long drive around Baltimore, where Hannibal impresses them with stories and history of the city they love and call home. Tony rests a hand on Hannibal’s thigh as he looks out the window at the buildings passing by, hoping to God that nothing tries to get between him and the ones he loves. 

***

It's a struggle to get Hannibal to put anything personal in their house. 

“Yes, _mi amor_ , I know it messes with the aesthetics, but it doesn't look like anyone lives here.” 

Tony has been fighting to put up a photo of their family on the mantle in the entrance and Abigail wants her adorable paintings on the fridge, but Hannibal has insisted that Tony has plenty of expensive italian leather photo albums to store their pictures in and Abigail has an easel in her bedroom specifically for displaying her artwork, so it's not necessary to ‘place’ things about the house.

“ _Una fotografía_ is not going to ruin anything. Just _una pequeña foto_! Right here!” he insists as he shows the small space he wants to use.

“You know I dislike code-switching, Tony,” Hannibal says in a disapproving tone.

“ _Por favor, Corazón_.” 

“No.” 

“ _Prašau_ ,” he begs softly, using the only Lithuanian word he knows.

Hannibal’s lips seems to be hiding a smile and so Tony thinks perhaps he’s won, but when he repeats the word again, Hannibal shakes his head and leads him to the kitchen instead, where he’s fed something sweet that Hannibal was baking before Tony interrupted him and he accepts that it’s not his place to design their home. 

Though the following afternoon when Tony comes home from work, there is a small silver frame on the mantle and inside is a photo of Tony and Abigail hugging; while he would have liked a picture of the three of them, he can’t help but feel touched that Hannibal would honour his request.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Excuse any typos--unbeta'd!
> 
> Lots of thanks to Mads_Hugh_Lover for the help with Tony's Spanglish!
> 
> Translations:  
> mi amor=my love  
> una fotografía=One photograph  
> just una pequeña foto=just one little photo  
> por favor, Corazón= please, my heart   
> prašau=please (Lithuanian)  
> code-switching=in linguistics, code-switching occurs when a speaker alternates between two or more languages, or language varieties, in the context of a single conversation. A good example is Spanglish.


	4. Chapter Cuatro

4.

Tony sits with Abigail half in his lap as he points to photos; she’s crawling all over him and the couch, trying to burn off all the energy she’d be spending outside if it wasn’t raining at the moment. He’d scold her for climbing about Hannibal’s (stupidly) expensive furniture, but Hannibal’s not home and sometimes even he feels a little stifled by all the rules in the house.

He’s holding a cream-coloured leather photo album filled with carefully arranged photographs from 1999. “This is Papi and Daddy’s second wedding here in Baltimore.” They’d worn formal charcoal grey suits, unlike in Miami, where they’d been in light coloured linen suits. He points to an image of Bedelia standing cooly beside Hannibal. “There’s your Aunt Bee.”

“If Daddy dies, will you really marry Aunt Bee?” Abigail asks bluntly, picking at the corner of the photo mounting.

Tony brushes her fingers away, trying to fight the knot in his stomach at the thought of anything happening to his husband. “I don’t know. Maybe. I’d need a second parent for you.”

Abigail shrugs, not seeming to notice his discomfort. “I like Aunt Alana. And Uncle Ben.”

“Yeah, they’re both pretty great,” he agrees, because they’d be the only reason he’d be willing to have Bedelia inherit his marriage title.

“And you’d get to be their brother-wife?”

“Mmhmm.”

“Am I going to be a sister-wife or a husband, _Papi_?” she chirps, playing with the silk scarf around her neck.

He adjusts the fabric carefully so that it doesn’t snag when she pulls on it. “Mmm, you’ll know soon. Deep in your heart.

“You always wanted to be someone’s wife?”

His smile broadens, because wanting to be a wife—a good wife—is the only truth he knows. “Yes. Always. I knew it deep down.”

She pushes her way into his lap and cuddles with him. “I think I’d want to be like Daddy and Aunt Bee. Have a bunch of wives to look after me.”

He kisses the top of her head. “We’ll love you no matter what you become.” 

***

Abigail comes home crying weeks later and Tony tries to get information out of her as she sobs in the backseat as Hannibal drives them back to Baltimore. At first he thinks someone’s made fun of her scarf or called her a cannibal (wasn’t is so sad that the boy who called her that died a few months later?) and he is about ready to have Hannibal take them back to the school so he can complain to the dean about bullying, but they finally manage to get a story out of her amidst the tears. 

“I wanted to play house and Marissa said yes but she wouldn’t be the wife and she said she’d be the husband, but I wanted to be the husband! It’s not fair! She should be the sister-wife!” she wails loudly and while Hannibal doesn’t permit her to cry, the circumstances are different because Abigail’s pride is one of Hannibal’s weaknesses. 

Tony spends the evening soothing his daughter and husband’s bruised egos that Abigail didn’t get what she wanted, reassuring them both that their little girl is without a doubt, the one any other child should want to pretend to be a wife to. Abigail gets kisses and hot chocolate before going to bed and Hannibal has his shoulders rubbed as Tony listens to him talk shit about the young Miss Shurr. He gives sympathising hums and is quiet, as his role is to allow Hannibal the rare chance to speak rudely about someone else, not to give his own opinion. And when he finally turns off the bedroom light, he assures Hannibal that Abigail is perfect, cuddling into his husband’s arms. 

***

“I need help, please,” Abigail says one evening, bringing a green sash and sewing kit over to Tony as they sit in the elegant sitting room.

Tony looks at his daughter over the top of his book. “You have a merit badge for sewing, don’t you?”

“But you do a better job,” she explains with a pout.

“Abigail, you will sew your own badge onto your sash,” Hannibal orders from the opposite side of the couch, where he’s sketching in his notebook. Then his tone lightens somewhat. “Pretend you’re giving someone stitches.”

Abigail gives a huff, but resolutely plants herself on the fur rug in front of the fireplace and begins to work on attaching the merit badge to her uniform’s sash. Tony smiles even though she doesn’t see it and returns his attention to his book; it’s a novel that Hannibal had recommended and to be honest, Tony found it boring and was only trudging through it for his husband’s sake. He supposed it was a little too intellectual for him and while he wouldn’t consider himself stupid, he’s definitely not on the same level of his husband’s intelligence. Hannibal is a genius and there are many times Tony is sure that the man he’s married to is the smartest person in the world; he works hard at making himself smarter and while this book is a dry as the paper it’s printed on, if it’s something that impresses Hannibal, then he should try to enjoy it, too.

The Girl Scouts is one of the few things that Hannibal almost not granted Abigail to have; sometimes Hannibal can be a real snob about what the family can participate in and Girl Scouts was on the list of ‘Abigail will be better off without it’ and it had taken two years to finally get permission. Tony thought the pleading had really paid off because now Abigail got to play with other children her age and she was taught so many great skills and morals. While he didn’t think it was good to disagree with his husband, this was one of the few times he was willing to assert his (correct) opinion.

After a while, Abigail squirms around on the rug with her sewing on hold, looking between the two of them and Tony can feel the sudden weight in the room as there’s no doubt Hannibal is aware the little girl has something she wants to say.

Finally, she says almost guiltily, “I have to sell Girl Scout cookies on the last Saturday this month.”

Tony watches Hannibal’s nose wrinkle slightly in distaste; it wasn’t a secret that Hannibal didn’t like the cookies that the Girl Scouts sold annually. “You may not snack on them this time, even if you do pay for them with allowance.”

Abigail face turned red in embarrassment, no doubt remembering how last year Hannibal had scolded her for the cookies she’d tried to sneak by him. “I won’t.”

“Can’t she have a few?” Tony asks, bookmarking his page with his finger. 

Hannibal turns his intense eyes to him. “Tony, you know I cannot tolerate the chemicals found in that ‘food’.”

Tony quickly looks away and to Abigail. “Maybe you can have Daddy bake you peanut butter cookies?”

Abigail looks at the head of the house anxiously. “ _Por favor_?”

Hannibal is quiet for a moment, making them both wait for his decision, then his expression softens and yields to a smile. “ _Sí_.”

Abigail grins ear to ear, showing the missing canine tooth she lost two weeks ago. “ _Muchas gracias_ , Daddy.”

“Finish your badge, my flower.”

Hannibal looks at their daughter with so much love that Tony feels everything within him ignite with adoration and devotion to his husband. It doesn’t matter that this house isn’t filled with wives and children—he has the two people who matter the most to him in the whole world, and that’s all he could ever want. 

***


	5. Chapter Cinco

5.

"Abigail don't touch that! Your fingerprints are everywhere!" Tony shouts at her and she lets out an angry and scared noise as he grabs her by the arm and violently drags her back upstairs. He pushes her out of the wine cellar and into the kitchen before shutting and locking the door behind him, returning to the mysterious trap door.

He stares down into the dark and silent depths for a few seconds before he takes a deep breath and walks down the steps, his heart pounding. Only a few minutes ago, he’d thought that the house was a bit too quiet and after roaming a bit, found the wine cellar door ajar; suspecting Abigail was playing around amid the very expensive bottles Hannibal had collected, he was surprised to find that the room was empty and a hidden trap door was open in the centre of the floor. He’d entered it, expecting perhaps a room with another water heater or even a smaller extension of the wine cellar. 

What he wasn’t expecting was a large secret room filled with various medical equipment and work tables. _‘That_ ** _asshole_** _told me there wasn’t a basement,’_ Tony thinks angrily, watching his breath puff out as he rubs at his arms to take the chill off. The room is as cold as a meat locker, which isn’t a surprise when he sees the man hanging from the ceiling, face still contorted in fear. He’s naked and partially dissected, looking exactly like an anatomy lesson, pale and grotesque; Tony shivers, closing the man’s mouth and eyes. He obviously suffered before he died and he can imagine that all the way down here he’d be able to scream and no one would be able to hear. He’d found Abigail reaching out to touch the body and he sees a butter knife on the floor, which feels confusing. It’s from Hannibal’s picnic flatware and he picks it up, quickly slipping it into his back pocket.

At first he thinks he’s looking at a particularly gruesome mistake, one that’s so out of place with the immaculate house he lives in and as he gazes past the body, he spots the very distinct freezer bags that Hannibal’s butcher uses and all the pieces click together, which sends Tony running back upstairs. Abigail is still standing in the kitchen and scampers after him as he makes his way to the small back yard. She’s trying to talk to him, perhaps asking him something but he doesn’t register a single word she’s saying—no, his mind is completely focused on protecting his family and what’s in the basement of the house is a _crime scene_.

There's a wood chipper in the tool shed behind the house and Tony first retrieves an axe; he locks Abigail out in the kitchen and she’s yelling, making a racket, but he’s got a body to chop up. There’s a large butcher’s apron hanging neatly on the wall and a box of latex-free gloves ( _‘Hannibal’s latex allergy,’_ Tony thinks, panic beginning to take a hold of him again), so he puts both on to keep from any form of contact with the room; pulling the poor man off the elaborate set up, he hauls him onto the medical table and lifts up the axe. _‘Don’t hyperventilate. Just don’t think about it,’_ he coaches himself. Chopping the body up is hard, not just because it’s scary and dirty, but because the entire point of being a nurse is about remembering that people aren’t just bodies, but human beings that deserve respect. And chopping up a corpse with an axe from the tool shed is not respectful. 

Abigail is still demanding to know what he's doing and when she finally resorts to kicking at the cellar door—which will leave scuff marks and Hannibal will _not_ tolerate that—he cracks it open just enough to tell her to go to her bedroom for time out!

“You have blood on your face!” she accuses before running upstairs to her room. 

“That’s double time out, _mija_!” he shouts after her. 

He finishes chopping up the man, cursing angrily at Hannibal, mind racking up the amount of dollars he needs to put in the manners jar. Then he hauls the body parts in garbage bags up to the back yard and begins to feed the portions into wood chipper and out into a black trashcan that they occasionally use to store lawn clippings in. The trash can fills slowly and it’s messy and Tony can’t believe he’s doing this in the backyard of their lovely house—he feels sick and high on adrenaline and he simply can’t believe the mess he’s making! Hannibal’s going to be furious!

One half of the body mulched, he returns to the basement to retrieve the rest. While grabbing heavy bags of dead weight (no pun intended), he sees Abigail’s anatomy colouring book is on the work table with little notes written in the margin and he quickly turns his head away—if he looks at it, it means it’s real and he can’t bear to think of that, that his baby girl might be involved in any way. He can feel what’s left of his nerves starting to fray and he instinctually wants Hannibal there to help him, to say something soothing, and he imagines that small smile as he tells Tony he’s doing great, to just keep going and everything will be fine. He mixes the ground up body with the compost he’s been working on in a corner of the garden, hoping it will decompose faster, though he has every intention of just dumping everything in the woods, far from where anyone will be able to find it.

But his work isn’t done yet. 

The house has always been well stocked with cleaning supplies and Tony is beyond grateful that he doesn’t have to leave just to collect more bleach. Down in the basement, he begins to disinfect everything, wiping down all surfaces for any fingerprints that might be there, sweeping up any hair that might have fallen to the floor, and destroying any residual blood left from the dismemberment. The sight of the colouring book that he’s trying to ignore proves to be too much and he snatches it off the counter and bolts from the room, dropping the trap door behind him and closing the wine cellar. He throws the colouring book across the kitchen and returns to the back yard where he pours bleach all over the wood chipper. Taking the toilet brush from the downstairs bathroom, he scrubs the machine inside and out, then adds more bleach, hoping to God that he’s not not missed anything. 

The trashcan is coated in flaking blood and as he’s scrubbing it clean, he glances up at the second floor of the house; Abigail’s looking at him curiously from her bedroom window. She waves at him and he jabs his finger at her with a very stern look, indicating she needs to get back in timeout and she rolls his eyes, leaving the window. He’ll need to destroy the trashcan later, but this will have to do for now; the plastic bags he’s used for transportation of limbs and torso are burned in the study’s fire place because it’s the only room with an open chimney during the summer. The house reeks of burned plastic and it’s horrible, but it’s the only way to get rid of the evidence permanently. When he finishes cleaning up, he goes to the safe in Hannibal’s study and retrieves three crisp one hundred dollar bills which are put into the manners jar. Like hell it’s coming out of his allowance. 

He feels sick and angry and hurt and betrayed. That shit was brought into his household, his sanctuary and while everyone has their own flaws, Hannibal _hid_ this from him. Marriage is about honesty and trust, about knowing the deepest and most intimate parts of another person. He’s bared his soul and heart and mind to Hannibal and Hannibal couldn’t treat him like an equal and do the same with him. Nothing cuts deeper than the fact that the person he’s shared everything with would think that Tony would allow for lies in their marriage. 

He locks himself in the guest bathroom and cries until he aches, and then he pulls himself together and makes himself presentable for when his husband returns home. As he scrubs his skin clean, he thinks about how calm and casual Abigail had been around the cadaver. He starts to feel selfish for not checking to make sure she’s okay, but that fucking colouring book tells him that she hadn’t been curiously investigating the body—she’d had the butter knife with her because she’d been pretending to cut it up. He’s so angry that Hannibal would bring their daughter—the one who’d already been through so many horrible things in her young life—and let her think it was okay to kill people. He starts to cry again, sobbing for their child’s lack of innocence, that Hannibal has brought this into their fucking house, their life together, that at any moment law enforcement could burst through their front door and take Hannibal away. Everything feels like it’s falling apart around him and he is at a loss for what to do—he’s so accustomed for Hannibal acting as the problem solver of the family and now _he_ is the problem.

When Hannibal gets home, Abigail lets herself out of timeout immediately and begins whispering to him in Lithuanian; Tony ignores them both as he reads his homemaking magazine, foot tapping in anger. Selfish Hannibal, not giving him a sister-wife or brother-wife to help him deal with this shit on his own. Eventually, Hannibal comes to stand in the sitting room doorway, staring at him with empty eyes; Tony glares at him, turning his attention back to the article on the many uses for old newspaper in the garden. Hannibal always greets him when he comes home and when he finally leaves the doorway without saying a single word, Tony feels dread in the pit of his stomach that their perfect marriage might not be perfect anymore. He swallows hard as he hears Hannibal open the door to the wine cellar and five minutes later he hears his husband re-enter the kitchen, no doubt having investigated everything Tony did in the basement. They don’t speak until Hannibal finally calls him to eat.

Dinner is quiet and for dessert, Hannibal very pointedly makes him the little empanadas he loves. Abigail is quiet and during dessert, Hannibal very pointedly makes affectionate compliments to Tony. Tony is quiet and after dessert, Hannibal very pointedly takes Tony upstairs to make love. 

As Tony lies on the bed, panting, sweaty, and sated, thinking about how Hannibal had skipped doing the dishes to do him instead, which isn’t really an apology. He finally looks over to the man he’s married to, resolute, and says,

" _Corazón_ , we're a little low on meat."

Hannibal stares at him for a moment, expression as void as his eyes and then he leans in to kiss Tony on the brow. “I’ll stop by the butcher’s.”

"Thank you.” Tony kisses him back.

And the Chesapeake Ripper strikes again that week. 

And the freezer is full once more. 

And Tony just smiles at Dr Lecter over his glass of wine at dinner, still in love. 

***

 


End file.
